NOVEMBER 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 5.8%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 10.8 million,
and the jobless rate was 7.0 percent. [BLS]
| White |
4.9% |
| African American |
11.1% |
| Hispanic |
6.6% |
| Asian** |
4.8% |
| Persons with a disability** |
10.8% |
| Men 20 years and over |
5.4% |
| Women 20 years and over |
5.3% |
| Teens (16-19 years) |
17.7% |
| Black teens |
28.1% |
| Officially unemployed |
9.1 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment rate in November 2014 would have been 9.2% instead of 5.8%. [See “The Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Trajectory”]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 6.9 million |
| People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.1 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) | 6.5 million |
| Total: 22.5 million (13.8% of the labor force) | |
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf See also Current Employment Statistics–Highlights
**Not seasonally adjusted.
*See Uncommon Sense #4 for an explanation of the unemployment measures, and Is the Decline in the Labor Force Participation Rate During This Recession Permanent?.
In addition, millions more were working full-time, year-round, yet earned less than the official poverty level for a family of four. In 2013, the latest year available, that number was 18.5 million, 17.5 percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2014).
In September 2014, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 4.7 million, “little changed from 4.9 million in August…The number of job openings was little changed for total private and government in September. The level of job openings decreased for arts, entertainment, and recreation. The job openings level was little changed in all four regions.” Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, November 13, 2014.+ Thus there are 4.8 job-wanters for each available job.
Unemployment Rate Vastly Understates Labor Market Weakness
Private Payroll Employment Has Grown For 57 Months
(cbpp 12/5)
Long-Term Unemployment Remains Near Historic Highs
(cbpp 12/5)
The Share of the Population with a Job Fell to Levels Not Seen Since the Mid-1980’s (cbpp 11/7)
GDP Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was Capable of Producing CBPP 11/7
+“The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in September for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The job openings level increased over the year for many industries, including both professional and business services and health care and social assistance. The number of openings also increased over the year in all four regions.”http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm